Page 44 of Secrets of Riverside

With her job on the line if anyone found out what had happened, she knew she should feel guilty for giving in to her raging libido, but she didn’t. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined the heights Jarrah could take her to. Nor had she expected to feel so much, so intensely.

It all still felt so surreal.

Needing, wanting, craving to relive it, she closed her eyes and recalled his body pressed up against hers, skin on skin, mouth on mouth, with their hands exploring each other ravenously. She still couldn’t believe what they’d gone and done, in the back of his LandCruiser, under the silvery glow of the half moon, and also under the influence of a heck of a lot of alcohol. But, along with the moving recollections, she also felt a stab of hurt as she recalled what she’d heard him say beneath his breath when she’d stepped out of his LandCruiser at first light that morning, a sight in her bedraggled clothing, feeling as if she was executing the walk of shame.

Why did you go and do that, King …

Hurt beyond belief, she’d almost spun around, pointed her finger and outright blamed him for their reckless actions. Actions that could lead to devastating consequences if Tommy ever found out. But even though he’d made the first move, it wasn’t Jarrah’s fault she’d reciprocated. It took two to tango, and gee whizz did they tango together so beautifully, for hours, tucked up within his swag. Having tormented herself since overhearing him, she wished she’d turned around and at the very least demanded he explain why he regretted what they’d done. Because she sure as hell didn’t. And they’d barely acknowledged each other since – the angst between them was killing her.

Frustrated, hurt, worried out of her mind about how they were going to act normal around each other now, she realised she was clenching her hands into fists. Opening her eyes and drawing in a few deep breaths, she forced herself to relax. The sound of the four-wheeler motorbike coming to a stop outside drew her attention to where Jarrah was alighting. Before she could take a beat, her heart leapt towards him, and the ache it left behind winded her. Watching Scruff sticking loyally to his master’s side, she blinked back hot tears. No way was she going to shed another tear after crying herself to sleep the past two nights. She was done with the merry-go-round of self-pity and then beating herself up. She had to get a damn grip on the steering wheel of her life. Otherwise, the web she’d woven by succumbing to her emotions was going to get her caught up and eaten alive if she wasn’t careful. She needed to get to the bottom of why she’d come here in the first place, as soon as she could, and then get the hell out of Riverside. But what questions was she meant to ask, and to who, without drawing attention to herself?

Turning away from the window, she got back to chopping onions for tomorrow’s special of a fetta, spinach and onion quiche. She turned her mind towards more important matters, like who she thought was behind her letter: she veered from Tommy, to Jarrah, then back to Tommy. Or maybe it had been the both of them, or neither. Maybe it was Penny and Jenny, or Mack, or Graham, or Marty, or … oh my goodness, could it have been Jasmine? She gasped with the thought. Frustration had her chopping angrily. After two weeks here, she was none the wiser to anything, and she was beginning to tire of pretending she was someone that she was not. She was sick of not knowing who was behind it all. She was sick and tired of not knowing who she could trust. And who she couldn’t. Slamming her knife down, she felt her entire body vibrate with impatience. She wanted to know the truth. Before the end of the week, come hell or high water, she was going to unearth the buried secrets that hid here at Riverside Acres.

Tommy stomped back into her space with another armful of dirty plates. This time he didn’t just dump them, but instead began rinsing and stacking the plates into the dishwasher. Like a bull confined in a china shop, his bad mood was omnipresent. Everything he put down was slammed. Every one of his footsteps was stomped, and the constant huffs and puffs made it sound as if he was having a whole heated dialogue within himself. Even though she was doing her very best to ignore him, Millie couldn’t help but feel as if she was treading on eggshells as she manoeuvred around him. Working in this kind of environment was wearing thin. But what choice did she have? With her heart heavy and her mind weary from spinning in circles, she was very close to exploding. And that wasn’t going to be pretty, if she, for lack of her better judgement, did. As if sensing the building tension from outside, Scruff appeared and whined a little from the opposite side of the flyscreen door.

Pausing to greet the only living thing here she fully trusted right now, Millie glanced to where Scruff had his nose pressed up against the screen and her heavy heart instantly lightened. ‘Hey, buddy,’ she said softly. Strolling towards him, she pressed the screen open and, stooping down, gave his head a ruffle. ‘Would you like some of the meat scraps that I’ve saved for you?’

Tommy pushed past her, sending her off balance as he stomped outside. ‘Excuse you,’ she called after him.

Ignoring her, Tommy stuffed a cigarette between his lips then, striking his lighter, lit it as he walked away from her.

‘What the actual f—’ Her anger at boiling point, she shot to her feet and followed him out. ‘Tommy.’ She lengthened her stride to keep up with him. ‘What in the hell was that all about? Tommy, don’t ignore me!’

Ironclad silence ensued as he just kept on walking.

‘Well, eff you!’ she roared before her self-control had a look-in.

Tommy stopped in his tracks and spun to face her. ‘What did you just say to me?’ His narrowed gaze was cutthroat.

‘You heard me.’ She swallowed down a huge lump of regret.

He took slow, steady, menacing steps towards her. ‘You do know that I’m your boss, don’t you?’

‘Yes, but,’ she blinked as she fought for an answer, ‘how about you try acting like one?’

Time stretched. She could hear her pulse pounding in her ears as Tommy glared at her.

‘If you want me to respect you as my boss, you can’t treat me like you do, Tommy.’ Even though the way he was looming over her made her extremely uncomfortable, she refused to step back. ‘I deserve to be treated like every other employee here.’

‘You know what, I’ve thought long and hard about you the past couple of days.’ Tommy inched another step into her space. ‘You’re not actually on the books, because we have to pay you cash, Millie.’ An odd smile played on his lips. ‘Therefore, there’s no trace of you ever being an employee here, so don’t play the “I’m an employee with rights” card with me.’ He smirked at her lack of response. ‘I’m onto you, Millie no last name.’ Spreading his two fingers he pointed to his eyes and then to her. ‘My eyes are on you. Always.’

Well, not always, or he would know about … ‘What do you mean by that?’ Her rapid pulse made her feel as if she were tap-dancing through a minefield.

He shrugged smugly.

He was clearly enjoying toying with her, the son of a …

Scruff came to her side and sat protectively in front of her, his gaze glued to Tommy.

‘Huh, looks like you got this one around your little finger too.’ He shook his head and huffed. ‘Eff me, what’s this place coming to?’

Bristling, she held her tongue as she watched him storm away from her. Only when he was out of sight did she release the breath she was holding. If he was trying to get her to completely lose her temper, it was going to take a lot more than that to rattle her cage. But if this was a case of him letting her know that he was privy to why she was there, then he’d certainly hit his mark. Was she right in thinking he was the one who’d sent her the letter that had her driving three thousand kilometres to here? Because he was definitely her number one suspect right about now.

‘Hey, Millie.’ Jarrah’s voice carried from the opposite side of the driveway.

‘Hey, Jarrah.’ Her reply sounded strangled as she fought to rein in her rising panic.

His smile as wide as the bright blue sky, he wandered towards her with an easy gait, as though nothing had happened, as though they hadn’t avoided each other like the plague the past two days. As he neared her, the air was suddenly teeming with his captivating testosterone, and it triggered her fight or flight response. But she couldn’t run. She had to stand here and try and pretend she felt nothing. Wanting, needing, to act normal, she desperately tried to slow her racing heartbeat so she could at least string together a comprehensible sentence.

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